I hate to look at such things in an "us vs. them" light, but when the Potter County Attorney petitioned the Texas Attorney General for an opinion on whether it was a violation of state law to pay official reporters for transcript preparation in addition to their county salary, I, and I'm fairly certain every other court reporter, took it a little personally. I completely understand shrinking government budgets getting annihilated by post-9/11 security demands and poor investment choices and the corresponding need to bring expenses in line, but the manner in which this cost-cutting attack was mounted was patently offensive.

The gist of their request basically boiled down to: Why, if the county is paying the court reporter a salary, must the county then also purchase transcripts in cases in which it is a litigant or on behalf of indigent parties?

In the age of CAT and instant translation, we've made our job look too easy. Most attorneys and judges have a mere passing knowledge of our vocation and its insane time demands; most lay people standing at a minimum safe distance have no clue of the behind-the-scenes world of transcript preparation. "Pay no attention to the scopist behind the curtain!" It's no wonder the beancounters painted a bullseye on the backs of reporters.

The good news, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's February 24, 2004 opinion clearly states there is no violation of any state rule, statute or code by paying reporters a per-page rate for transcript prep. You can review the full text of both the request for opinion and the AG's answer below:

8/29/03 Request for Opinion
2/24/04 Opinion of Texas Attorney General

"Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned." -- Milton Freidman